UN conference calls for decade of fighting desertification

The United Nations Convention on Desertification has decided to speed up its efforts to reverse the degradation of drylands at the conclusion yesterday of two weeks of meetings.

Senegalese Minister of Environment Souty Toure, President of the second session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, said that by working together the Convention "demonstrates a convincing and binding political commitment to addressing the most pressing concerns of the people of the African continent and of all arid and semi-arid regions of the world."

Representatives of the 21 countries attending the conference called to a decade dedicated to combating desertification, beginning in the year 2000 and for sufficient resources to be made available.

The group also agreed on a work program for the Conference of the Parties' next meeting, scheduled for November 15 - 26, 1999 in Recife, Brazil.